Family-friendly activities are set to take place Saturday throughout Missouri’s state park system in celebration of Kids to Parks Day.

This national event is sponsored by the National Park Trust and endorsed by Missouri State Parks. More than 100,000 parks throughout the nation will be participating.

Missouri is home to several award-winning state and local parks that provide an opportunity for children to engage in active lifestyles while experiencing all that nature has to offer. Kids to Parks Day events throughout the state are designed to encourage children and parents to take an outdoor adventure at a state park or historic site.

Some of the activities happening this weekend at state parks closest to Fort Leonard Wood include:

— Bennett Spring State Park, 26250 Hwy. 64A near Lebanon, will hold special programs on Missouri wildlife. A program on eagles in Missouri is scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday at the park’s Nature Center.

That will be followed by a program on the hellbender — an endangered aquatic salamander that is native to the park — from 3 to 3:30 p.m. Earlier Saturday, the park will hold one of its regular, twice-monthly tours of its trout hatchery. The tour is scheduled from 10 to 10:45 a.m. Call Ben Havens, hatchery manager, at 417.532.4418, for more information about the hatchery tour. For more information about the eagle and hellbender programs at Bennett Spring, visit https://mostateparks.com/events/park/bennett-spring-state-park.

— Onondaga Cave State Park, 7556 Hwy. H near Leasburg, Missouri, will hold photography tours of Cathedral Cave and Onondaga Cave Sunday starting at 9 a.m. The tour of each cave is approximately three hours. Tour fees are $15 for the Onondaga tour, $10 for the Cathedral tour or $20 for both. Reservations can be made online at www.onondagafriends.org. The park is also holding a free May Day Hike from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday. Visit https://mostateparks.com/event/66901/may-day-hike for more details.— Ha Ha Tonka State Park, 1491 State Road D in Camdenton, Missouri, will hold an informational meeting from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday at its visitor center. Attendees can learn about the current status and future plans for this historic park, which is home to the ruins of a 1905 European-style mansion known by many as “the castle.” For more information, call 573.346.2986.— Lake of the Ozarks State Park, 403 Hwy. 134 near Kaiser, Missouri, has scheduled an open house from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday. The park staff will be on hand to share information about the park with visitors and answer questions at the park office. For more information, call 573.348.2694 or visit https://mostateparks.com/park/lake-ozarks-state-park.

Events being held in other state parks throughout Missouri on are listed at mostateparks.com/events.

(Editor’s note: Information for this story provided by Missouri State Parks and mostateparks.com.)